Vets anaesthetize gaur to test for deadly illness

national May 10, 2014 00:00

By The Nation

In a bid to investigate many mysterious gaur deaths in Kui Buri National Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan, a team led by Kui Buri district chief Pongpan Wichiensamut shot an injured gaur with an anaesthetic dart yesterday to collect blood for testing.

An informed source reported that the thin male gaur, aged about 10, was reportedly wounded in the right hip by another gaur’s horn before the team found it.

The blood test is to determine if the animal has a disease that may be the cause of the 28 gaur deaths in the park over the past six months.

A team of veterinarians has been stationed at the park for three months to investigate the deaths and to conduct health checks on live animals.